Levis Hill House Team

Team Roles:

Olivia: Leader/Liason, Construction Manager

Gabby: Archivist & Webmaster, Investigative Tech, Construction Manager

Gigi: Financial Officer, Construction Manager, Investigative Tech

Design Phase 1

Project Charter

LEVIS HOUSE_2022 Fall_EPICS Project Charter

Levis Hill House Exterior - Middleburg, Va

Prior Art:

LEVIS HOUSE_2022 Fall_EPICS Prior Art

Bird Houses:

Information Display Stand

Olivia's Prototype Sketches:

Olivia's Prototype:

Form and function review: After discussing further with our partner, I learned i would have to conside the following: the number of participants interested in helping with the birdhouse, the size of the space, and the level of engagement.

My idea now is to position the birdhouse/s on my proposed podium with corresponding information. This would give residents access to viewing the podium from the communtity room and from the porch.

Revisions in my design include installing different portions of mosaic, that the residents could create individually, and paste them together on the exterior of the birdhouse. I want to continue with the idea of the plexiglass viewing window.

Now I need to consider:

  • How high to make the podium

  • How many birdhouses we want to make

  • How we want to conduct research and find information for "bird watching.'

Gabby's Prototype Sketches:

My idea took the form of a post that holds multiple birdhouses - similar to an apartment-like layout. The post running down the middle would include some bird-related facts and information, for the residents to enjoy while watching the birds. I would like to style houses that the residents can help decorate, whether that is by painting or creating mosaics.

Gabby's Prototypes:

Gigi's sketches & Prototype:

Form- Square bottom half with one clear side so old people can see in. triangle top roof with hole in front for birds to go in and a perch for the birds to land on.

Function- easy for the birds to go in the hole and land on the perch. Clear side for old people to peer in and see the birds nesting.

Some new information that I gained was that a lot of old people like to sit out on the screened in porch. About six out of the 20 residents living at Levis house participate in the activities the home supplies.

The new things I learned doesn't really change any of my specific ideas, but the number of people that would participate in an activity we would possibly bring does give me a scope of how much supplies we would need to gather.

Design Phase 2

Material List

Final Prototype

Design Phase 3 & 4

Levis House Project

Design Review

Liveroof:

  • Suitable plants for the liveroof

  • A plant with short tiny roots.

  • Upkeep of life roof

    • watering and non watering of plants

Paint Workshop:

  • Stencils for painting the birdhouses.

  • Color by number.

Maintenance:

  • Materials

  • Weatherproofing

  • Predators - mesh

  • Non-scratch plexiglass

  • Upkeep

Signage:

  • QR code - bird calls, pictures, facts, identification

  • binoculars

  • Information packet kept indoors/QR code.

Progress

  • We came up with final measurements for the base and the sides

  • We cut our final measurements for our final prototype

  • Art design for the residents to color /paint in on the pieces of wood for house

  • We decided the wedges should be connected and cut with the sides so we shouldn't use to much glue

  • Decided on dimensions of the post - how far it is in the ground?

Issues

  • Designing the roof - dimensions, drainage

  • Cutting angles with the woodcutter.

  • Ran into issues with wedges

Goals

  • Complete the roof of our house.

    • garden bed - need dimensions

  • Finish our final prototype with accurate dimensions.

    • plexiglass- back, left, right - build in illustrator, different for each side, needs to be flush on back,

    • wood front with the hole

    • front peg x3- dowell

    • order more plexiglass

Prototype Measurements:

Design Phase 5 - Construction + Delivery

Final Measurements + Final Design:

Birdhouse User Manual

Dimensions:

Sides:
L = 7 1/4 in
H = 10 in
w = 3/4 in

Base:
L = 4 1/2in
H = 7 1/4in

Front:
H = 10in
L = 4 1/2 in
Hole in middle = 6 in from bottom
Diameter = 1 1/2 in

Timeline

  • Tuesday, 11/29 @ 1:00-2:15

    1. Prime all material

    2. Finalize measurements to cut wood and create cut list

    3. Edit paint by number to fit front

    4. Determine size/spacing of holes to be cut

    5. Prepare design files to cut acrylic

  • Thursday, 12/1 @ 11:00-12:15

    1. Measure and cut front of birdhouse example

    2. Layout placement of holes and cut

    3. Finalize and transfer paint by number on example and paint

    4. Plan workshop for 6 participants

    5. Send email communication to confirm workshop date on the 6th or 8th

  • Monday, 12/5 @ 1:00-1:45

    1. Cut and build planter roofs

    2. Prime unfinished material

    3. Measure and cut bird and perch holes

  • Tuesday, 12/6 @ 9:00-10:15

    1. Finish paint sample and make any necessary adjustments to final design

    2. Label paint names on paint by number and print several copies

    3. Transfer designs

    4. Gather all workshop supplies

    5. Cut acrylic and wood sides

    6. Draw measurements for placement on post

    7. Mark post

  • Thursday, 12/8 @ 1:00-2:15

    1. Workshop + Install Post

  • Monday, 12/12 @ 9:00-9:45

    1. Cut and build birdhouses

  • Tuesday, 12/13 @ 1:00-2:15

    1. Deliver/Mount birdhouses

  • Thursday, 12/15 @ 9:00-12:00

Levis House Residents Participating in our Workshop